We take our online audience on a journey. Our content is meant to educate, entertain, grow, and influence. Sounds great – right?
Content should be created for the reader – human-centric and purposeful.
In the human-centric content mindset development process, the first step is to create a buyer persona and audience journey workflow. The second step is to complete the first content bundle, which includes three important content pieces fundamental to online business.
A buyer persona and audience journey are pivotal to content healthiness.
Understanding these two elements place content in perspective – by first understanding the audience and creating content around the audience purposefully for them.
After the buyer persona, audience journey, and content calendar are complete, there are three important content elements to undertake next in the content creation process.
What are your content goals?
I will take a wild guess and say – you wish to increase website visits, email subscriptions, and/or product/service buyers. These are common goals for online content creators. A conversion element to begin the content funnel is central to meeting all these goals.
As a content creator, you already have a content calendar set. You are producing enriching and quality content for your audience. Your page views might even be going up based on my buyer persona and audience journey teachings.
Blog content is a major organic traffic driver, and as it attracts new audience numbers, you want to capture the information of those that are most relevant to your business.
The next step in online content strategy is to create three important content pieces in content bundle. What are they?
1. Content ebook or Beginner’s Guide
Online blog content grows a following and lures potential clients. Content is performing exactly how you wanted, and it is bringing new clients your way.
At the end of every blog article, the piece needs a conversion element. Usually, these types of pieces are white papers, beginner’s guides, or ebooks targeting the ideal audience with a rather broad subject line.
The purpose is to educate and inform – providing value and a continuous narrative. A long-form content piece like an ebook, guide, or white paper is the first must have in your content arsenal. Interested website visitors exchange their email for valuable content to reach their personal goals. Once you have an email, you begin determining if the individual is a potential client or not.
2. Enticing Landing Page Copy
The second content piece is enticing landing page copy. I am not an expert copywriter – but I know the value of strong copy conversion. Strong copy pulls the reader in, entices them, entertains them, and encourages them to one action (and one alone).
In this scenario, the action is a download in the form of a long-form content piece. Engaging copy convinces the reader of the content’s value.
3. Warm Welcome Email Copy
The last element is a regularly forgotten content piece in the content funnel. You have enticed the reader to download a long-form content piece. Now, welcome them warmly and with open arms.
After download, the first email to them should be a warm introduction from you, the brand or company. Who are you? What are you all about? How are you going to help this person? Put a little bit of story behind it. Let them know in a warm welcome email copy.
The content funnel is an excellent resource for your online business to nurture and engage with potential customers.
But the content funnel does not include random pieces of miscellaneous content. It is strategic with content that moves potential clients through the buying journey.
An ebook, enticing landing page copy, and a warm welcome email are three important content elements to build out the content funnel and drive its success.
